If you ever experience a computer crash or serious malfunction, your information isn't necessarily lost. In fact, there are several methods you can use to attempt to recover your data.
There are no guarantees, and the amount of data that can be recovered depends on the extent of the computer damage. But many data salvage operations are highly successful. And even if the first recovery service you contact isn't optimistic, keep trying. You might find one with a track record of dealing with your special problem.
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Know the basics of data recovery
Before you do anything, take the time to evaluate your situation and learn about your options.
I recommend: Discuss your situation with others in the community forums at
Tek-Tips.com. For a good overview of data recovery, go to Article-Hub.com's
Data Recovery section. Learn more about options at
The Data Recovery Resource Center.
Test your hard drive
Even if you have a computer crisis, your hard drive may still be OK. If your hard drive survives the event that caused your computer to malfunction, you at least have a fighting chance of retrieving your data.
I recommend: To test your hard drive to see if it survived, install it as a second hard drive in another computer or have a technician do it for you.
PC Mechanic and
About.com have tutorials on installation.
Restore your data from your back-up source
If you back up your data daily, you'll never lose more than a few hours of work when you experience a hardware failure. If your data is backed up on an external hard drive, a network-attached storage device, a portable flash drive, CDs, DVDs or tapes, the most cost-effective solution is to buy a new hard drive and copy your data to it.
I recommend: Seagate, a manufacturer of external hard drives, has hard drive installation
instructions. Find computer storage media at
Office Depot.
Try data recovery software
Data recovery software can often, but not always, restore files and documents that were lost for a reason (e.g. accidentally deleted) other than hard drive failure.
I recommend: Recover Lost Data and
Recover My Files are two popular software programs that may help.
Find a data recovery company
If you don't want to risk further damage by attempting recovery by yourself, hire a data recovery company. Find a local business if possible; shipping a hard drive will add days to the return of your critical data. Look for a data recovery company that will give you a free evaluation and a binding estimate with if/then scenarios. Make sure they have experience with your operating system, very experienced technicians and a "clean room."
I recommend: Tech-Pro has a
directory of data recovery services, including
MicroCom and
Disk Doctors, two popular services that specialize in hard disk recovery. Optimum Data Recovery offers more
information about choosing a data recovery company
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